After the firefighters came and hosed the fire down, Bella and Princeton both stood in the kitchen where most of the smoke and ashes laid. The kitchen was covered in black smoke and soot was all over the walls, making it hard to see and breath, "Bella, how did this happen?!" Princeton yelled as he couched.
"Prince, I don't know!" Bella cried.
"Did you leave something on?"
"No-"
That's when they both paused and slowly looked over to the stove where Bella was making empanadas. "Oh, no.." Bella said in a low voice.
Meanwhile, Shamra, Bahja's mom, sat in the bathroom staring herself dead in the eye in the mirror. Just seeing Bahja's smiling face three days before, and getting a call from the police saying that she was dead the next, it was like a horrible dream. She laid her palms on the sink counter and stayed in that same position, not letting one tear drop or moving her head one bit.
That's when she heard a knock at the door.
She stayed in that same position hoping they would just go away. That's when they knocked harder on the door, forcing her to see who it was.
She bit her bottom lip then took a long walk to the front door. Once she checked the peephole, she saw that it was Babydoll. She opened the door, not saying one word like she did the whole day.
Babydoll stared at her also, keeping her quiet. They stared at each other for twenty seconds, then smashed into each other's arms. "I don't even want to know how she died! Don't tell me!" Babydoll cried into Shamra's pink sweater.
"I don't even want to know, Bre... I don't even want to know.."
Zonnique's family brought her back from the hospital that day. There was nothing extremely wrong with her but the doctors wanted her to get some rest.
Once T.I. laid her on the bed, he saw that she was off to sleep. He breathed through his nose then sat beside her on her bed. "Get better, Nique. I love you."
He planted a kiss on her forehead then walked backwards outside the door. As soon as Zonnique heard the door close, she slowly opened her eyes and touched her lips as they started to tremble.
Her and Bahja went through so much as little children and even as young adults. She tucked he rlips in as she thought back to their first hot video, Gucci This Gucci That. She remembered how they had so much fun, and how they promised that they would get back together as adults and perform it again; the first time they ever performed in front of a larger crowd; how it was so small but how huge it seemed to them.
She also thought of the last time they were together- how Bahja held her and told her that everything would be alright. Then, she remembered the last thing she ever talked about with Bahja, and that was Ray. She buried her head into her pillow then cried right there. Bahja was gone and she didn't even get a chance to say bye to her best friend.
Later on that week, Shamra held a tiny funeral for Bahja. The casket was closed so none of her family would have to view her dead body. Princeton, Ray Ray, Roc, Prodigy, and Reginae also attended. Zonnique didn't attend and she never did plan to go.
The whole funeral, no one was emotionally ready to say anything to each other. They weren't read to discuss Bahja, her past accomplishements, or how much she meant to them. They had a preacher to speak with a blown-out picture of her smiling in the background.
After he spoke, it was time for the Interment. As the boys prepared to get into their limo, they all watched her large casket being carried into the hearse. They all lowered their heads then gave each other looks that signaled they wanted to cry.
